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The North Korean leader was visiting an estate of newly built apartment blocksAFP/Getty Images

Richard Lloyd ParryAsia Editor

Last updated at 1:33AM, October 14 2014

He was said to have died, to have been toppled in a coup or to have been
paralysed by obesity caused by a surfeit of Swiss cheese. But today Kim Jong
Un, the North Korean leader, confirmed his country’s reputation for
unpredictability by making his first public appearance in six weeks, beaming
broadly and supported by a walking stick.

The front page story on the state newspaper Rodong Sinmun, accompanied
by colour photographs, showed Mr Kim visiting an estate of newly built
apartment blocks and a renewable energy institute but made no reference to
his absence from public view